Dressing table for infants&#39; bath stands



y 1953 E. c. TRIMBLE ETAL DRESSING TABLE FOR INFANTS BATH STANDS Filed May '7, 1951 V III:

INVENTOR. EDMIRD 6. TR/MBLE ATTORNEY Patented July 14, 1953 DRESSING TABLE FOR INFANTS BATH STANDS Edward G. Trimble and William C. Baxter, Rochester, N. Y., assignors to Trimble,'lnc., Rochester, N. 1 a corporation of New York Application May 7, 1951, Serial No. 224,900

5 Claims.

This invention relates to a dressing table for.

an infants bathing appliance of the general type including a folding stand betweenthe leg frames 2'. accompanying drawings, the novel features being pointed out in the claims following the specification.

of which is supported a tub and upon Whichis hinged or otherwise mounted a dressing table for supporting an infant before and after the bath, and it has for its purpose to afford a practical, durable, and efficient construction that can be economically manufactured, readily assembled, and which affords the desirable characteristics of a soft resilient supporting surface,

flatness, and stiffness or resistance to bending or sagging to provide a comfortable and substantially rigid-like support for the child.

Dressing tables for the purpose have previously been made from thin sheet metal and a loose pad arranged thereon to provide the desired softness, also such dressing tables have been made from canvas or other fabric supported upon a metal or wooden frame, and it is a purpose of the invention to provide a dressing table which does not require sheet metal and affords a firm and rigid fiat supporting surface with all the advantages of a sheet metal table while at the same time soft and yieldable on top, eliminating the disadvantages of canvas and other types of fabric tables which have a tendency to stretch and sag after continued use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dressing table having the advantages and none of the disadvantages of metallic and fabric dressing tables as heretofore constructed, and which provides a unitary structure characterized by a flat, soft supporting surface preferably of flexible waterproof, material, forming part of an envelope which encloses and protects against water, a stiffening layer and a soft padlike element enclosed and'built in the fabric envelope above the stiffening layer, the entire unit being supported upon and stretched within a supporting frame.

Still an additional purpose of the invention is to provide a practical and efficient supporting frame which can be economically manufactured and is composed of separable parts that can be readily assembled in relation to the fabric unit of the table and held in proper relation thereto to support the fabric unit in a taut state while i at the same time permitting read assembly of the parts or quick detachment of the supporting frame from the fabric unit when desirable.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts that will appear clearly from the following description when read in conjunction with the In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan View of a dressing table constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of "the invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same;

3 is an enlarged'detail sectional View on line il-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional View on line 4-- l of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional View on line 5-5 of Fig. l

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view on line 6 E of Fig. 1 with the end member of the supporting frame omitted, and

Fi 7 is a view in end elevation.

Referring more particularly to the drawings in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the several views, the structure in its preferred form includes a supporting frame consisting of generally U-shaped metallic end members I and 2 of tubular cross- 7 rails areconnected to the end members at all four corners of the frame, as shown in Fig. 3.

The fabric element which extends between and is maintained by the supporting frame preferably ccnsists of an envelope constructed from two plies of suitable plastic material such as vinyl sheeting, the two plies of plastic material being indicated at 5 and 5 respectively in Fig. 4 and within the envelope thus formed there is arranged a bottom layer of stiffening material such as plywood, as indicated at and above the plywood between it and the top of the envelope is a top layer 8 of padding or soft material which may be of cellulose fiber such as known to the trade under the name Tufllex, although the padding layer may be of an suit able soft, resilient material.

The plies of plastic material 5 and t are folded upon themselves along all four edges to afford hems 9 at the front and rear of the fabric element to receive the side rails 3 and the adjacent portions of the end members i and 2 that are threaded therein, and hems II that receive cylindrical metal rods [2 for a purpose that will appear presently. The hems 9 and H are formed in the fabric element by electronically or heat sealing the plies of plastic material together along'lines I3 and 4 parallel and adjacent to the hems 9 and H respectively, thus providing a completely sealed envelope for housing and protecting the stifiening and padding layers, and hems for threading on to the side rails and rods I2 that are connected to the end members I and 2 by means of metal spring clips [5. 7

Two such metal clips are provided at each end of the frame spaced equally from the front and rear of the fabric element, and each includes an enlarged arcuate portion [6 that engages over the adjacent end member of the frame and a smaller arcuate portion I! that engages around the rod i2 threaded in the hem il. There is sufficient stretch in the fabric element to permit the clips to be applied by springing over the end members I and 2 and the metal rods [2,

and when secured in place as shown, the fabric element is held taut between the end members of the supporting frame, and the fabric envelope through the metal clips I5 acts to hold the end members of the supporting frame and the side rails or dowels 3 in fixed relationship, thus affording a rigid, tight frame within which the fabric envelope containing the stiffening and padding layers is held in a firm, fiat state, affording substantially as much rigidity as a sheet metal table.

The fabric element is cutaway at the corners as at [8 to accommodate the corners of the end members of the supporting frame, and the hems If at the ends of the fabric element are cut I away at [9 to permit engagement of the metal clips with the rods I2 threaded in the hems at the ends of the fabric envelope. 2| designates hinge plates secured to the end members of the supporting frame and by which the table may be pivotally attached to a collapsible stand of an infants bathing appliance, and 22 designates stop plates at the forward portions of the supporting frame on the underside to engage and rest upon the leg frames of a foldable stand, these hinge and stop plates being conventional in infants folding bath stands and dressing tables and forming no part of the present invention.

The fabric envelope may also be employed in conjunction with a supporting frame constructed otherwise than as herein described, in which case the fabric envelope would be held in substantially the same manner.

The invention affords a practical and economical structure including a fabric envelope with a built-in stiffening layer and padding layer, affording a unit securely held in firm, flatwise relationship on the supporting frame, and thus furnishing the advantages of both a sheet metal dressing table and a canvas or other fabric dressing table stretched and held on a supporting frame. With the structure of the invention, there is a firm, fiat, rigid support as solid as a metal table and with softness and resilience due to the plywood stiffener and built-in pad to afford the desired comfort for a child, while eliminating the possibility of undue stretching and sagging that characterizes a canvas or similar fabric table, and protecting the built-in plywood stiffener and resilient fiber pad by thesealed envelope within which they are enclosed.

While the invention has been described with reference to the construction herein shown, it is not confined to any particular details and this application is intended to cover such departures or modifications as may come within the purposes of the improvements and the scope of the following claims.

'We claim:

1. The combination with a supporting frame comprising one-piece metallic U-shaped end members of tubular cross-section, of side rails consisting of wooden dowels removably telescoped within each of said end members, a fabric element extending between said end members and side rails and comprising an envelope, a layer of stiffening material within the envelope, a layer of padding between the stiffening layer and the top of the envelope, the envelope having hems at its side edges through which said side rails are threaded and hems at its ends, metal rods threaded in said hems at the ends, and metal clips removably connecting said metal rods near the ends thereof with the adjacent portions of said end members and acting to stretch the fabric element between the end members and to maintain the end members engaged with said side rails.

2. The combination with a supporting frame comprising one-piece metallic U-shaped end members of tubular cross-section, of side rails consisting of wooden dowels removably telescoped within each of said end members, a fabric element extending between said end members and side rails and comprising an envelope, a layer of stiffening material within the envelope, a layer of padding between the stiffening layer and the .top of the envelope, the envelope having hems at its side edges through which said side rails are threaded and hems at its ends, metal rods threaded in said hems at the ends, and fastening devices removably connecting said metal rods near the ends thereof with said end members and acting to stretch the fabric element between the end members and to maintain the end members engaged with said side rails.

3.The combination with a suporting frame consisting of end members and side rails, of a fabric element extending between said end members and side rails and comprising an envelope consisting of two rectangular plies of plastic material, said plastic material being folded upon itself at its edges to provide hems at its sides and ends, said plies being sealed along lines adjacent to said hems and said side rails being threaded in the hems at the sides of the fabric element,

metal'rods in said hems at the ends of said fabric element, a layer of stiffening material within the envelope, a layer of padding between the stiffening layer and the top of the envelope, and

fastening devices removably connecting said metal'rods near the ends thereof with said end members and acting to stretch the fabric element between the end members and to maintain the end members engaged with said side rails,

4. Th combination with a supporting frame comprising one-piece metallic U-shaped end members of tubular cross-section, of side rails consisting of wooden dowels removably telescoped within each of said end members, a fabric element extending between said end members and side rails and comprising an envelope consisting of two rectangular plies of plastic material, said plastic material being folded upon itself at its edges to provide hems at its sides and ends, said plies being sealed along lines adjacent to said hems and said wooden dowels being threaded in the hems at the sides of the fabric element, metal rods in said hems at the ends of said fabric element, a layer of stiffening material Within the envelope, a layer of padding between the stiffening layer and the top of the envelope, and fastening devices removably connecting said metal rods near the ends thereof with said end members and acting to stretch the fabric element between the end members and to maintain the end members engaged with said side rails.

5. Th combination with a supporting frame comprising one-piece metallic U-shaped end members of tubular cross-section, of side rails removably telescoped within each of said end members, a fabric element extending between said end members and side rails and comprising an envelope, a layer of stiffening material within the envelope, a layer of padding between the stiffening layer and the top of the envelope, the envelope having hems at its side edges through EDWARD C. TRIlWBLE. WILLIAM C. BAXTER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 975,996 Reed Nov. 15, 1910 1,574,696 Roberts Feb. 23, 1926 1,851,499 Edwards Mar. 29, 1932 1,965,644 Heflelfinger July 10, 1934 1,994,901 Stern Mar. 19, 1935 2,543,218 Young et al Feb. 2'7, 1951 2,576,455 Gratt Nov. 27, 1951 

